Thinking to go global? Explore our latest insights into international expansion – from company readiness, to product-market fit, international marketing, culture and more…
More and more businesses are actively doing more globally, and in many ways, the borders for international trade may look easier to overcome now because we are doing more business virtually. However, when it comes to recruitment, and finding the right people – your ability and the speed at which
I know from experience that one of the key challenges that companies – small and large – face when it comes to international expansion, is bridging the cultural divide. Adapting to the culture of a new market isn’t just about switching up your packaging or rebranding your company’s name so
International Competitor Analysis: It’s a Red Ocean Out There… Because ‘going global’ is such an involved process, doing competitor analysis is often overlooked. Myths abound in this space. CEOs say things like “we’re just going to focus on what we do and not get hung up on the competition” or
In previous posts, we talked about two key aspects of understanding your international ideal clients: market segmentation and market research. Now it’s time to put those things together and create your ideal international client avatar. So why is creating an ideal client avatar important? “You can’t hit a target you
In my previous post, I talked about the four levels of market segmentation when it comes to international marketing, and how they can be applied in different contexts. Now let’s talk about your ideal client and how you can conduct market research to understand their needs and challenges better. Your
As your business expands overseas, you’ll want to build relationships with your ideal international clients. These are the prospects that are most in need of your services, who will get the most value from your offering. They are the most likely to buy from you, and most likely to generate
Manufacturing in Australia has had a long and proud history, but over the last 30 years the industry has stagnated. Aussie companies have been unable to compete with our neighbours on cost due to distance, higher wages and the price of energy. Governments and large corporate companies offshored manufacturing projects,
As I write this post, the COVID-19 pandemic is reshaping the global business landscape and the world as we know it. For many executives, just surviving is a fight to the death and expanding internationally is the last thing on their minds. But if you’re a business leader with big
As I wrote recently in Why Strategy is Key to Expanding Your Manufacturing Business Globally, there are plenty of opportunities for manufacturers to scale internationally in 2021, but it’s definitely not a risk-free exercise. There are some key things that you need to get right if you want your international
Manufacturing in Australia is on the upswing. Despite the chaos that COVID19 created in 2020, the sector is bouncing back, thanks to a combination of pent-up demand, reshoring bringing some production back home and robotics driving reductions in production cost. Many manufacturing companies – including our clients – are also
Key points PACER Plus is the prospective trade and economic agreement between Australia, New Zealand and the Forum Island countries. The provision of regular, reliable and competitive transport services is crucial for the Forum Island countries. Australia and New Zealand typically maintain policies of liberalisation when it comes to aviation
When it comes to investing in international business expansion these days there is often hesitation – you tread lightly and scour Bloomberg Market Data Feed for any indication of positive trends. As you search for the right overseas market to scale up your business or put down roots for your
Bribery and corruption aren’t words that are usually associated with doing business in Australia, but several high profile cases and an international report have recently brought the issue into focus again. The most notorious of these is the case of Russell Waugh, a former senior executive of infrastructure giant Leighton
Increasingly clients are asking for advice when contemplating doing business in China particularly given the recent, aggressive stance taken by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) towards Australia with what appears to be the weaponising of economic relations. Then you have the experience of Jack Ma who clearly sailed too close
Companies encounter a bunch of challenges when it comes to marketing in other countries. Marketing departments often don’t know much about the business and cultural context of the international audiences they are trying to reach. Sometimes they are also unsure about what kind of marketing they should be doing, so
This week, I’ve been reading a great book by Stephen M.R. Covey (son of the author of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People) called The Speed of Trust, and this has prompted me to think about the importance of trust in international business. Too often, trust in international business is low. This is
When it comes to selling internationally, big mistakes are often made around product-market fit. When companies are intimately acquainted with the desires and expectations of their domestic customers, they sometimes get complacent. When the time comes to expand to new markets overseas, companies think they can replicate what they’ve done at home overseas and get the same result. But this just isn’t the case, as a bunch of companies have learnt the hard way.
Scaling your venture across multiple markets is still the most effective way of increasing its value… if you get it right. But if you’ve decided to “go global”, which markets should you sell to? Here’s four international market selection mistakes to avoid as you craft your international strategy.
“Because of the political, social and economic volatility that rocked the world in 2020, international market selection is more important than ever. So how do you get it right?
In a word, “research”. Choosing the right market isn’t rocket science. It takes some time and effort, but if you do your homework you’ll know that you’ve made the right decision when the time to choose comes. Here’s why.”
In my previous posts on market selection, I’ve talked about some of the common pitfalls to avoid as you embark on the international market selection process, as well as four questions to help you get started. Once you have narrowed down your list of potential target markets, it’s time to
In this series on choosing the right international market in 2021, the year of volatility, we’ve looked at common pitfalls, questions to ask, and barriers to entry. In this blog, I want to run you through the final considerations that you need to take into account before you go ahead
With the globe more interconnected than ever before, businesses can say goodbye to geographical boundaries – and hello to international expansion! Businesses are now looking to expand more quickly and smoothly, and are able to grow on a much larger scale. But where do you begin? How do you even set foot in another market, where you’re facing
If you’re new to ‘going global’, working with a local partner can be a good way to get started. Teaming up with a business that already has feet on the ground can bring huge gains. Whereas your business probably has specialist expertise in a particular field or technology, your partner
I’m thinking of selling my product overseas. What level of due diligence should I do to make sure the product is suitable for the local market? This is a question that came across my desk recently and it’s a great one, because there’s an almost endless amount of market research
COVID-19 has created huge disruption in some industries and opened up massive opportunities in others. For many companies, there’s never been a better time to ‘go global’, but to do so, you need a tailored international marketing strategy…
The COVID-19 pandemic is reshaping the global business landscape and the world as we know it. For many executives, just surviving is a fight to the death and expanding internationally is the last thing on their minds. But if you’re a business leader with big dreams, you still need an
It’s here. The global pandemic has arrived and my inbox is filled with updates about new health measures, cancelled events, and people working from home. COVID-19 has us panicked. Many people are frightened of catching the virus or losing someone close to them as a result of it. Doctors are
I’ve spent a lot of time this week checking in on my clients and colleagues – hours spent in Zoom and on phone calls. Pretty much all anyone can talk about is COVID-19 and what it’s likely to mean for their company. Naturally, the news isn’t great, and whatever you
COVID-19 shook the world during 2020, and local and global economies took a major blow. Bilateral relationships – including the Australia-China and US-China partnerships – rode the rollercoaster, highlighting the impact of international politics on foreign investment. If you have been considering investing or establishing businesses in new markets –
Geopolitics and doing business in Hong Kong and China. The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) World Economic Outlook was published in October 2019 and, as usual, provides a valuable back drop to international business investment decisions. One of the key observations discussed in that report is not that the emerging markets
Geopolitics and doing business in Hong Kong and China. I’m forming a view that there are three general strategy ‘domains’ that need to be thought about when dealing with China. These are interconnected and not unique to China but they demonstrate different facets to foreign interaction with the country. I
Geopolitics and doing business in Hong Kong and China. I’ve been in China to visit the 6th World Internet Conference and Exhibition (WIC) that was held at the purpose build exhibition centre in Wuzhen, Zhejiang Province. The focus this year is on AI, Internet of Things, and Cyber security. This
One of the challenges that I see companies face frequently as they start selling overseas is international pricing. As you begin pitching your product overseas, lots of people will want to know your price, so it’s important to have your pricing worked out before you approach international prospects. While many
The Asia-Pacific region has become the economic growth engine for the world, presenting massive potential for foreign businesses. As a group, Asian economies now represent as much as 40% of global GDP.
This presents an exciting opportunity for Australian businesses. But before you rush to expand your company into Asian markets, it’s important to step back and the nuances and challenges of the Asian region, so that you can get your strategy right.
Australian politicians and government statisticians paint a picture of optimism in the first case and caution in the latter. One can see the role of politicians to be positive and for the person in the street to carry on regardless, doing the best they can. But, if you look at the High Street of any city or town in Australia, and other developed economies, you will see that not all is well.
Indonesia is the third largest democracy in the world after the USA and India and is also the largest Muslim country by population. People tend to know it more for the congestion of Jakarta and the beauty of Bali, than one of South East Asia’s (SEA) more attractive investment locations.
Geopolitics and doing business in Hong Kong and China. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’re probably aware of the US-China trade war. Over the past year, the world’s two largest economies have imposed tariffs on billions of dollars worth of one another’s goods. US President Donald Trump has
I attended the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Business Leaders Summit at Parliament House in Canberra this week and the hot topic was how to maintain the continuing record of growth into twenty nine plus years for Australia.
I am often asked by people who pick up on my English accent about the UK’s decision to leave the the European Union and what it means for the country as a continuing base for operations in that part of the world. This blog attends to political issues and then moves onto business – please bear with me!
If you run a successful business in your home country, you might assume that there’s not much point considering scaling internationally. Why expose yourself to all that extra work and unnecessary risk?
Geopolitics and doing business in Hong Kong and China. One of the main elements to consider when moving into overseas markets is the geopolitics that surround a territory. For the most part, this is often background noise as the time scales that make any problems manifest are often counted in
Business owners and entrepreneurs: Do you feel stressed when you look at your to-do list? Is it so jammed with urgent tasks you need to do NOW that you can hardly work out where to start? If you’re scaling your company internationally, it’s highly likely that you’re feeling overwhelmed by
When I was a kid, I thought Dr Who was the coolest thing ever. Remember Tom Baker, zooming around the universe in his Tardis, fighting evil, getting s*** done and always coming out on top? Who wouldn’t want to be a Time Lord? I still think Time Lords are cool.
It’s January, the month where people get momentarily excited about the year ahead. With the promise of a fresh start, most of us make new year’s resolutions: “I’m going to lose weight, exercise more, drink less, quit Facebook, go to bed on time” … you fill in the blanks! Many
If you’re in the field of international business, you’ve heard it a thousand times: “Commercial intelligence is vital to the success of an international business venture”. If you’ve been around the traps for long enough, you’ll know how true that is. For those of you wondering what’s so special about
When you’re expanding a business to a new country, how you take the business into that new international market can make or break the venture. This might sound like a bold claim, but I really believe that the mode of market entry that you choose can have a dramatic impact
With Australia’s mining boom well and truly over and infrastructure spending at a low ebb in most Australian states, Australian engineering firms looking to the future are right to wonder where new work will come from. The good news is that because the vast majority of the world’s building and
As international retailers like H&M, Zara and Topshop continue to open up throughout Australia, there has been a lot of talk about the death of local fashion labels. But is it really true? The domestic retail market is definitely a competitive and expensive space to play. A relatively small local
More than a decade ago, I made an international business mistake, which cost me dearly. I want to tell you about it. I was initially so embarrassed that I couldn’t talk about how I’d stuffed up. But with hindsight, I realise how much that mistake taught me, and I’d like
My team and I run the International Business Accelerator, a structured end-to-end teaching and coaching program to help micro-to-medium sized companies build and implement winning strategies for launching their business internationally. This March, we’re excited to be launching the #GirlsGoingGlobal campaign, to coincide with International Women’s Day. As part of this
There has been a lot of talk about Australia becoming the “food bowl” of Asia over the last few years and the trade statistics indicate that Australia’s trade with the rest of the world in food products continues to increase. Take for example, wine sales, which increased in value by
This week at the International Business Accelerator, we talked about international marketing and why so many companies get it wrong. Here are four of the mistakes that I see people making all time when it come to international marketing. They fall into the #1 trap of international marketing The number one
As an SME leader, your top priority is to grow your company. You understand that building a pipeline of work, securing recurring revenue and scaling your business depends upon identifying opportunities and being prepared to capitalise on them. What you may not have realised is that the “next big thing”
I was recently in a café with my partner waiting for a couple of coffees. I walked to a nearby counter to pour us each a glass of water from a pair of water dispensers. One of the dispensers was taking forever. Although it was fuller than the other and
Are you are small or medium-sized business with aspirations to grow? If you are, then you might be considering international expansion or exporting your product (or service) overseas. Obviously, there are lots of countries you could target, but how do work out which is the right one for your international
Is your company successful at home? Do you believe it could do ten times better if you expanded internationally? I know a lot of businesses and owners in that category. They’re doing quite well in their local market and they’re like “it would so cool to expand to Singapore …
Planning to expand a business overseas is an exhilarating prospect, but the road to success is littered with failures. While it’s easy to imagine your company with offices around the globe, leading the world in your particular sector, the reality is far more gruelling. All the more so for small
As I work with business owners and executives who are expanding their companies internationally, I’ve found that most of them deal with similar challenges as the project ramps up: Competing priorities – with an international business starting to grow alongside the domestic one, there are suddenly lots more things to do
It’s that time of the week again … blog time. This week, I’m concluding my three-part blog on why expanding into international markets isn’t a crazy idea. In Part One, we looked at key global trends which make now the best time in history to enter international markets. In Part Two, I outlined
In last week’s post, Why Expanding into International Markets Is Not a Crazy Idea (Part 1), I talked about why I believe that there has never been a better time to take your business to the world. I also outlined a few of the key reasons that companies should be looking abroad and
Is the World Really Your Oyster? Stock market volatility, plummeting oil prices, China’s economy in crisis. The international stage is a pretty scary place these days, and businesses frequently perceive international markets as faraway, risky and full of unknowns. Why expand internationally? It’s not just that international markets are foreign
There has never been a better time to ‘go global’ and doing business internationally has never been easier… but can women really make it on the International stage? The truth is that when it comes to women owning and running businesses, the picture is a little mixed. On the bright
Cynthia Dearin, Managing Director of Dearin & Associates, interviews Melinda Richards about going global with her company SuperSprout, which delivers a 100% pure, real, non-GMO fruit and vegetable powders with no additives, preservatives or artificial colours. Melinda started her own business after 21 years in the corporate world. She was
Cynthia Dearin, Managing Director of Dearin & Associates, interviews Aaron Gilchrist, one of the original partners of Bridge to Life Pty Ltd. Aaron grew his company from a tiny two-man operation in the US to an international company operating in 50 markets around the world. Bridge to Life is working
Have you ever looked at another business that does the same thing as yours but has clients all around the world and felt just a tiny bit jealous? Why are some companies international rockstars while others are plodding along, just getting by with clients in one city or one state?
If the African north coast is an arch, then Tunisia could be its key stone. This country of 11 million people sits almost in the centre of the arch and is almost the right shape for a key stone. The country uses its geographic position to offer itself as a
With a population of 625 million people, South-East Asia offers some enormous export markets for your company’s goods or services. But why is South-East Asia really so important? Which countries should you consider and how do you get started? I recently sat down with Dearin & Associate’s Michael Lee to
With a population of 625 million people, South-East Asia offers some enormous export markets for your company’s goods or services. That’s roughly 25 times the size of Australia! But why is South-East Asia really so important? Which countries should you consider? How do you get started and ensure that you
You’ve just received an email from a department store in China, requesting a meeting to talk about purchasing a shipment of the fantastically snazzy new shoes that your start-up company released last quarter. You’ve only ever traded in your home market before, but as you contemplate jumping online and booking
In a recent event organized by OFX, Cynthia Dearin discussed how Dearin & Associates can help small businesses expand into international markets. Dearin & Associates launched the International Business Accelerator (IBA) in 2017. The IBA is a structured training and coaching program that speeds up and de-risks the process of
In a recent event, organized by Dearin & Associates in collaboration with OFX and the Australian British Chamber of Commerce, Cynthia Dearin discussed the global potential of SMEs. Most SMEs believe that “Going Global” is very difficult, but in reality it’s easier than you think. There are many examples of small
When our intern Cathrine Hansen went to Singapore, she explored the options of starting a business in Singapore. She found some interesting facts about doing business and starting a business in Singapore and shared it with us. Did you know that Singapore ranks 2nd worldwide in ease of doing business?
Have you ever looked a company like Uber or WhatsApp and wondered how they got so successful? Have you ever looked at your own company and thought: “I wish I could turn this sucker into an international success story”? When you’re in small business, scaling up and expanding overseas can
At the International Business Accelerator, I recently taught a workshop with my colleague, Peter Evans on choosing the right international market for your business to expand to. This is a big topic and an important one, because if you get your choice of market wrong, it can have serious implications
What does it take to grow your small company from a start-up to a global success story in six years? Our Managing Director, Cynthia Dearin interviewed RecruitLoop Founder, Paul Slezak, to find out. Paul and his co-founder, Michael Overell started RecruitLoop in Sydney, Australia in 2011, from a co-working space.
When you’re getting ready to expand your business overseas, it can be really tempting to skip the market research and just get down to it. I get it. Spending hours trawling websites for statistics, or reading reports during your weekend is a little lacking in glamour. Even investing time in
If you’re part of a small or medium-sized company (SME) which is looking to grow, the thought of expanding your business overseas might excite you. Or terrify you. Or both. Either way, when you consider the time, resources and energy involved in launching a new venture in a new country,
Fancy a pint of Guinness to drink? The dark Irish beer is available across the world. So almost any country you travel to on business, you can find a bar selling a pint of the black stuff. This is because Guinness is no longer a family owned brand but part
Assuming a leadership role is no piece of cake, as leaders hold a huge burden to drive a business to success. For business leaders with aspirations to “go global”, a key question is whether or not you have the right mindset to expand overseas. Your readiness and willingness to take
Stacey Martin from Expat Advisors Community and our Managing Director, Cynthia Dearin recently caught up to talk about international business, opportunities for SMEs in China and the Middle East and what it’s like working in war zones. Check out the interview:
To most people Colombia continues to be an unknown quantity, a country which has done its violent image few favours in the past. However the country’s well publicised peace process and move to end a stubborn insurgency against FARC rebels has dominated the media and optimism has surrounded the country’s
On a recent visit to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, I was surprised by the opportunities in the cultural and creative industries. I watched my first Abu Dhabi-made film and heard talk about the imminent opening of the Etihad Museum in Dubai and the Louvre in Abu Dhabi. The Guggenheim is
At first glance, Qatar is not the obvious choice as a gateway into Iran. Dubai is often cited as the entry point on the Arabian side of the Gulf and indeed has long acted as a trading hub for Iran. However, Qatar is emerging as a regional business centre in
With confidence seeping out of China and despair deepening in Brazil, Argentina isquickly emerging as one of the brightest spots among the world’s larger emerging markets. Rejuvenation is the name of the game in Latin America’s third largest economy, as newly-elected President Mauricio Macri is quickly reversing a decade-plus of failed policies and
Raising money from investors for a startup (or a going concern) is always a challenge – even if you’re an experienced founder. Sourcing capital involves selling ideas, convincing would-be backers that you have the capacity to execute your ideas and knowing your numbers – in short it requires a great pitch.
For Australian food exporters looking to expand internationally, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region is a lucrative, high-income and high-value food export market that is growing exponentially in size, variety and revenue. Australia conducts aroundAUD$4 billion in food and agricultural trade with the GCC states each year, but there’s still
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Dearin & Associates is an international strategy consulting firm that advises companies on international expansion, marketing research and modelling, cross-cultural training and strategic business connections.
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